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Gift From Maxson and Folkner Families Ensures Health of UCM Athletes

Contact: Mike GreifeWARRENSBURG, MO (Jan. 8, 2015) – The legacies of two prominent Warrensburg physicians who built the foundation for healthy student athletes at the University of Central Missouri recently were recognized with the naming of the Maxson-Folkner Athletic Medicine Center at the university’s Audrey J. Walton Stadium. The late Dr. T. Reed Maxson served as team physician from 1946-1991. He recruited the late Dr. Al Folkner, first to assist him, then to succeed him. Folkner was team physician from 1991-94.

Members of the families of the late Drs. T. Reed Maxson and Al Folkner recently toured the newly renovated athletic facilities at Audrey J. Walton Stadium at the University of Central Missouri, including the Maxson-Folkner Athletic Center. Joining Mrs. Virginia Maxson, center left, and Ann Folkner Angers, center right, were UCM President Charles Ambrose, left, and Jerry Hughes, UCM director of athletics, right.

At a special appreciation event Thursday, Dec. 18, Virginia Maxson, wife of T. Reed Maxson, and Ann Folkner Angers, daughter of Al Folkner, along with family members and friends, were given a tour of the recent $6 million expansion of Walton Stadium, including the Maxson-Folkner Athletic Medicine Center. The group also toured the new lobby, game-day room, athletic training room, laundry facilities, and strength and conditioning area.

Gifts from both families to the UCM Foundation helped fund the athletic medicine center and the stadium renovation. The Mules for Life Campaign also generated gifts from several former Mule football players, coaches, families, friends and fans for furnishing the locker room. Naming of the athletic medicine center was approved by the UCM Board of Governors in March 2014.

“We’re here to say thank you to the families of Dr. Maxson and Dr. Folkner,” said UCM President Charles Ambrose. “When something happens to one of our athletes, we know we can continue to provide the quality of care that honors the legacies of these two men.

“There are many reasons for students to engage in a university community,” Ambrose added, “and among them is the knowledge that they are part of a caring community. The Board of Governors at UCM has made the commitment to put students first, and your gift is important to our ability to keep our students well and happy.”

Maxson came to Warrensburg in 1946, volunteering his time and effort as UCM’s team physician. He seldom missed a game, both home and away, and for nearly 20 years he furnished all of the supplies for athletic injuries and treated athletes with sports injuries at no cost to the university. At the same time, he supported the university at large in a variety of ways. He was the first recipient of the UCM Distinguished Service Award, and in 1993 he was named to the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame, as well as the Sports Medicine Hall of Fame in Columbia.

Folkner attended UCM on a football scholarship, majoring in physical education and biology. He continued his education at the University Of Kansas School of Medicine and then joined Maxson, his mentor and lifelong friend, in practice in Warrensburg. In addition to serving as team physician and treating many of UCM’s football players at no cost, Folkner was appointed to the university’s Board of Governors in 1982, serving as president from 1986 to 1988. He was honored with the UCM Distinguished Alumni Award in 1991 and was inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.

“UCM’s athletes were near and dear to my father’s heart,” Angers said. “He loved attending games as a reprieve from the demands of his practice. This gift was in support of my father’s legacy here at UCM, which was so much a part of his personal and professional life.”

The UCM Foundation is the university’s official nonprofit organization, committed to raising private support that makes a college degree more affordable, accessible and beneficial to students.